MK Amir Peretz(Zionist Union) intends to compete for the fourth time for the leadership of the Labor party. In an Arutz Sheva interview he declared: "There is no doubt that I am the only one in the center-right camp who can bring votes from the right of the political map and cause a change."
He added that "we don't need to posture. We are not a right-wing party, we are left-wing. Let's not distort reality. Whoever tries to be half-right, half-center and half-left has no agenda. There is a right wing and a left wing and for me the left wing is security, a peace process, peace, human dignity and social justice and this is what I will argue for."
Peretz said that he believes he can restore confidence to many people in this country and can fight for social justice. He also believes that there must be a peace process established since "it's time that the State of Israel decides what it wants."
Peretz emphasized that "if the State of Israel wishes to annex Judea and Samaria that's fine. You have the most right-wing government, go ahead and annex. But you aren't annexing since you know you can't. If not, then let's decide to stay in the areas which are within consensus and not keep spreading out in isolated communities."
Is there room for religious people in the Labor party?
"There's room for both religious people and haredim in our party. Both the haredim and the national religious community are important to the Labor party, not because they bring mandate but because they attenuate the image of the party as anti-religious and divorced from tradition, an image I intend to change."
"I am traditional. The fact that my father always bought a seat for me and my brothers -these are things that didn't leave me and influenced my outlook. I always saw the positive side of the Torah- the social aspect, the protection of the weak and of course the fact that 'all its ways are peace.'"
If there won't be dramatic changes in the Labor party, will it vanish from the political map?
"There is no chance that the Labor party will disappear from the map. The party has a base and infrastructure of its own. I will soon restore the mandates, even those which went to Yair Lapid and I will bring new mandates and new sectors from the right of the political map."